Real estate heir Robert Durst pleaded not guilty to murder Monday (7 NOV. 2016) in the death of a friend who authorities said Durst wanted to keep from talking to investigators looking into the disappearance of his first wife.

The 73-year-old Durst, wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair, entered the plea during a long-awaited appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom in the death of Susan Berman 16 years ago.

"I do want to say here and now though I am not guilty," a pale and frail-looking Durst said in court. "I did not kill Susan Berman."

Durst's statement came after his attorney unsuccessfully argued to ban news media cameras from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said they would not be seeking the death penalty against Durst.

Durst was already a well-known figure in his native New York. But he became a national name when HBO aired the documentary "The Jinx" that followed his life and cast suspicion on him involving several crimes.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have been seeking to bring Durst to California since shortly after his arrest in March 2015.

POOL

Los Angeles, 7 Nov. 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. Various of judge

4. Tight of Los Angeles County prosecutor

5. Various Durst with attorney Dick De Guerin

6. Wide of judge

7. Tight De Guerin

8. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, suspect:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Real estate heir Robert Durst pleaded not guilty to murder Monday in the death of a friend who authorities said Durst wanted to keep from talking to investigators looking into the disappearance of his first wife.

The 73-year-old Durst, wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair, entered the plea during a long-awaited appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom in the death of Susan Berman 16 years ago.

"I do want to say here and now though I am not guilty," a pale and frail-looking Durst said in court. "I did not kill Susan Berman."

Durst's statement came after his attorney unsuccessfully argued to ban news media cameras from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said they would not be seeking the death penalty against Durst.

Durst was already a well-known figure in his native New York. But he became a national name when HBO aired the documentary "The Jinx" that followed his life and cast suspicion on him involving several crimes.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have been seeking to bring Durst to California since shortly after his arrest in March 2015.

POOL

Los Angeles - 7 November 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, defendant:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Prosecutors who charged New York real estate heir Robert Durst with the murder of his best friend in Los Angeles want to videotape testimony from witnesses they fear could die or be killed before trial.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said Wednesday that prosecutors fear for the safety of witnesses because Durst is accused of killing a witness in the 1982 disappearance of his wife.

Lawyers for Durst objected to taking conditional testimony and suggestions the 73-year-old Durst, who is using a wheelchair and in custody, is a threat to anyone.

Lewin says Durst is worth $100 million and is suspected of killing Susan Berman, who was allegedly killed in 2000, before she was expected to be interviewed by police about the suspected murder of Kathleen Durst in New York.

Pool

FILE: Los Angeles, 7 November 2016

Los Angeles, 7 Nov. 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. Various of judge

4. Tight of Los Angeles County prosecutor

5. Various Durst with attorney Dick De Guerin

6. Wide of judge

7. Tight De Guerin

8. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, suspect:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

Robert Durst, the millionaire heir accused of murder, was seen smiling following a court hearing Tuesday. Meanwhile, a friend of Durst's late wife says she feels vindicated after his arrest. (March 17)

ECCENTRIC MILLIONAIRE ROBERT DURST SMILES AS HE IS DRIVEN FROM COURT BY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES TUESDAY.

DURST.. SPENDING A SECOND DAY IN A NEW ORLEANS COURTROOM -- THIS TIME FACING DRUG AND GUN CHARGES.

POLICE SAY THEY FOUND A STASH OF MARIJUANA AND A HAND GUN IN HIS HOTEL ROOM.. WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED SATURDAY FOR THE MURDER OF FORMER FRIEND SUSAN BERMAN FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.

HIS LAWYER SAYING AN APPARENT CONFESSION IN AN H-B-O DOCUMENTARY WAS WHAT SPARKED THE ARREST.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Attorney for Robert Durst

"My concern is that the warrant that was issued in California was issued because of a television show, and not because of the facts."

BUT INVESTIGATORS IN CALIFORNIA POINT TO NEW HANDWRITING EVIDENCE --shown on THE HBO DOCUMENTARY SERIES, THE JINX.

ONE DURST WROTE TO BERMAN A YEAR BEFORE HER KILLING -- AND ANOTHER THAT POINTED POLICE TO HER BODY.

PROSECUTORS WILL ARGUE THE HANDWRITING MATCHES.

SOUNDBITE (English) Prof. Paul Rothstein, Georgetown University Law

"It's an astonishing case"

PROFESSOR PAUL ROTHSTEIN OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL .. SAYS DURST'S BIZARRE BEHAVIOR AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE DOCUMENTARY COULD POINT TO THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INSANITY PLEA.

SOUNDBITE (English) Prof. Paul Rothstein, Georgetown University Law

"The guy must be a little mixed-up mentally, little bit publicity seeking to get himself into this kind of hot water and he has provided fairly damning evidence against himself."

DURST HAD BEEN ACQUITTED OF MURDER IN A DISMEMBERMENT DEATH IN TEXAS -- .

HE'S ALSO BEEN LONG SUSPECTED, THOUGH NOT CHARGED IN THE 19-82 DISAPPEARANCE OF HIS WIFE.. KATHLEEN DURST IN NEW YORK.

HER BODY HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, Friend of Kathleen Durst

"I will take his going to jail any way I can -- I'm not fussy -- he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it."

IT'S UNCLEAR HOW SOON DURST WILL BE EXTRADITED TO CALIFORNIA.. A NEW ORLEANS JUDGE HAS SCHEDULE ANOTHER HEARING FOR NEXT WEEK.

++No one Excerpt shall exceed one (1) minute or one clip it its entirety and in no event shall the aggregate footage from the Clip Reel used in all Excerpts exceed a total of one (1) minute. The Excerpts may only be exhibited for a period commencing on March 16, 2015 and ending on June 16, 2015++

++The Excerpts may be exhibited solely within the program and solely by means of Standard Television and/or The Company's Website.++

++HBO Bug Must Be Visible. -- The Bug Cannot be Blurred, Covered or Cropped++

++CANNOT EDIT WITHIN THE CLIP++

++A VERBAL & ON-AIR MENTION MUST BE MADE THAT ""THE HBO DOCUMENTARY SERIES, THE JINX can be seen on HBO.++

Robert Durst, the millionaire heir accused of murder, was seen smiling following a court hearing Tuesday. Meanwhile, a friend of Durst's late wife says she feels vindicated after his arrest. (March 17)

ECCENTRIC MILLIONAIRE ROBERT DURST SMILES AS HE IS DRIVEN FROM COURT BY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES TUESDAY.

DURST.. SPENDING A SECOND DAY IN A NEW ORLEANS COURTROOM -- THIS TIME FACING DRUG AND GUN CHARGES.

POLICE SAY THEY FOUND A STASH OF MARIJUANA AND A HAND GUN IN HIS HOTEL ROOM.. WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED SATURDAY FOR THE MURDER OF FORMER FRIEND SUSAN BERMAN FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.

HIS LAWYER SAYING AN APPARENT CONFESSION IN AN H-B-O DOCUMENTARY WAS WHAT SPARKED THE ARREST.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Attorney for Robert Durst

"My concern is that the warrant that was issued in California was issued because of a television show, and not because of the facts."

BUT INVESTIGATORS IN CALIFORNIA POINT TO NEW HANDWRITING EVIDENCE --shown on THE HBO DOCUMENTARY SERIES, THE JINX.

ONE DURST WROTE TO BERMAN A YEAR BEFORE HER KILLING -- AND ANOTHER THAT POINTED POLICE TO HER BODY.

PROSECUTORS WILL ARGUE THE HANDWRITING MATCHES.

SOUNDBITE (English) Prof. Paul Rothstein, Georgetown University Law

"It's an astonishing case"

PROFESSOR PAUL ROTHSTEIN OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL .. SAYS DURST'S BIZARRE BEHAVIOR AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE DOCUMENTARY COULD POINT TO THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INSANITY PLEA.

SOUNDBITE (English) Prof. Paul Rothstein, Georgetown University Law

"The guy must be a little mixed-up mentally, little bit publicity seeking to get himself into this kind of hot water and he has provided fairly damning evidence against himself."

DURST HAD BEEN ACQUITTED OF MURDER IN A DISMEMBERMENT DEATH IN TEXAS -- .

HE'S ALSO BEEN LONG SUSPECTED, THOUGH NOT CHARGED IN THE 19-82 DISAPPEARANCE OF HIS WIFE.. KATHLEEN DURST IN NEW YORK.

HER BODY HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, Friend of Kathleen Durst

"I will take his going to jail any way I can -- I'm not fussy -- he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it."

IT'S UNCLEAR HOW SOON DURST WILL BE EXTRADITED TO CALIFORNIA.. A NEW ORLEANS JUDGE HAS SCHEDULE ANOTHER HEARING FOR NEXT WEEK.

++No one Excerpt shall exceed one (1) minute or one clip it its entirety and in no event shall the aggregate footage from the Clip Reel used in all Excerpts exceed a total of one (1) minute. The Excerpts may only be exhibited for a period commencing on March 16, 2015 and ending on June 16, 2015++

++The Excerpts may be exhibited solely within the program and solely by means of Standard Television and/or The Company's Website.++

++HBO Bug Must Be Visible. -- The Bug Cannot be Blurred, Covered or Cropped++

++CANNOT EDIT WITHIN THE CLIP++

++A VERBAL & ON-AIR MENTION MUST BE MADE THAT ""THE HBO DOCUMENTARY SERIES, THE JINX can be seen on HBO.++

Real estate heir Robert Durst pleaded not guilty to murder Monday in the death of a friend who authorities said Durst wanted to keep from talking to investigators looking into the disappearance of his first wife.

The 73-year-old Durst, wearing a neck brace and seated in a wheelchair, entered the plea during a long-awaited appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom in the death of Susan Berman 16 years ago.

"I do want to say here and now though I am not guilty," a pale and frail-looking Durst said in court. "I did not kill Susan Berman."

Durst's statement came after his attorney unsuccessfully argued to ban news media cameras from the courtroom.

Prosecutors said they would not be seeking the death penalty against Durst.

Durst was already a well-known figure in his native New York. But he became a national name when HBO aired the documentary "The Jinx" that followed his life and cast suspicion on him involving several crimes.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have been seeking to bring Durst to California since shortly after his arrest in March 2015.

POOL

Los Angeles - 7 November 2016

1. Robert Durst enters courtroom in a wheel chair and is seated next to his lawyers

++Off Camera++

2. UPSOUND "We enter a plea of not guilty."

Judge: "Not guilty plea will be entered."

3. Various of judge

4. Tight of Los Angeles County prosecutor

5. Various Durst with attorney Dick De Guerin

6. Wide of judge

7. Tight De Guerin

8. SOUNDBITE Robert Durst, suspect:

"Your honor, I'm willing to waive my rights. I do want to say here and now though, I am not guilty. I did not kill Susan Berman."

Judge: "Thank you. And do you in fact waive those rights at this time?"

A nervous Berman had summoned Barnes to her New York apartment around the time Durst's wife vanished to say she had done something that day for Durst, but she wouldn't elaborate. The gravity of what she said next wouldn't sink in until Barnes was at Berman's funeral nearly two decades later.

Barnes, who is expected to face cross-examination Wednesday, was the second witness at the unusual hearing to record testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court from witnesses who are old, ill or fear for their safety and may not be available at Durst's eventual trial.

Durst, 74, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the fatal shooting of Berman in Los Angeles in 2000. Prosecutors allege Durst killed Berman to prevent her from telling police what she knew about Kathleen Durst's mysterious 1982 disappearance.

Barnes, 66, a former film executive now working as a psychiatric social worker, never went to police because she feared Durst could harm her.

"I knew he was a very wealthy man and he could do whatever he wanted to somebody," said Barnes, who nervously looked over at the diminutive and frail Durst. "I started thinking about his wife and Susan, I started thinking, oh my God, I don't want anything to do with this. I was petrified. I still am."

Barnes eventually told the account to The New York Times because she didn't think Durst would live to see his day in court. She said she regretted that decision and wished she didn't have to testify.

A retired New York detective testified that a few months before Kathleen Durst disappeared, she had frantically banged on a neighbor's balcony window in her pajamas for help and said Robert Durst had beaten her and she feared he would kill her.

James Varian, 77, had interviewed neighbors of the Dursts after the disappearance and retired from the force later that year.

He said he did not recall much of what was written in the reports until he reviewed them, but he remembered the account of Anne Doyle, who lived in the 16th-floor penthouse next to the Dursts.

Doyle said a frightened Kathleen Durst once appeared at her bedroom window and said her husband had a gun and she feared he would kill her, Varian testified.

Wealthy eccentric Robert Durst agreed on Monday to face a murder charge in Los Angeles in the shooting 15 years ago of a mobster's daughter who vouched for him after his wife disappeared.

But one of his lawyers said the trip may be delayed by new charges in Louisiana. The heir to a New York real estate fortune was carrying a gun when FBI agents arrested him without incident at a New Orleans hotel over the weekend, according to a police report.

Durst's lawyer Dick DeGuerin later said outside court that the trip to California may be delayed because New Orleans prosecutors are considering other unspecified charges against him.

The hearing came only hours after Sunday's finale of an HBO documentary detailing Durst's life of privilege and links to three deaths: his friend in Los Angeles, Susan Berman; his wife in New York, Kathleen Durst; and Morris Black, an elderly neighbour in Texas.

Durst had been laying low at a Marriott hotel in New Orleans to avoid the growing attention from the documentary, his longtime lawyer, Chip Lewis, told The Associated Press.

Galveston County Judge Susan Criss, who presided over the 2003 murder trial of Morris Black, spoke out following his arrest, saying she believed he was involved in the killing of all three.

This is, by far, not the first time in handcuffs for Durst, who still has millions of dollars despite his estrangement from one of America's wealthiest families, with assets of about 4 billion US dollars.

Just last year, he was fined for urinating on the candy racks at a CVS pharmacy in Houston, where he keeps a townhouse.

Lewis called that an "unfortunate medical mishap" and said Durst has Asperger's Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder that can involve behavioural problems.

Criss, however, said she believed he was "perfectly sane."

"He's able to plan the crimes and he's able to plan the cover-up of the crimes and that shows a certain level of cunning that is not something an insane person is capable of doing," she told the AP on Monday.

"We came here to waive jurisdiction and go back to California and to get it on. Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman, he's ready to end all the rumor and speculation and have a trial. But we're frustrated because local authorities are considering filing charges on him here and holding him here. We're ready to go to California and to have a trial."

3. Various exteriors of the Orleans Parish jail and the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE HANDOUT

New Orleans - 15 March 2015

++16:9++

4. Booking photo provided by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office showing Robert Durst after his arrest in New Orleans on an extradition warrant to Los Angeles

"He is perfectly sane. He's got issues, and he's got a dark side, but he knows what he's doing. He's able to plan the crimes and he's able to plan the cover-up of the crimes and that shows a certain level of cunning that is not something an insane person is capable of doing."

DURST APPEARS IN NEW ORLEANS COURT; POLICE SAY HE HAD A REVOLVER WITH HIM WHEN ARRESTED

Millionaire Robert Durst agreed Monday (16 MARCH 2015) to return to Los Angeles to face a 15-year-old murder charge after muttering that he "killed them all" in a documentary about his links to three sensational killings.

Robert Durst, 71, appeared before a judge in New Orleans after FBI agents arrested him before HBO's broadcast of Sunday's final episode of the documentary.

He is charged in the shooting death of Susan Berman, a mobster's daughter who acted as his spokeswoman. He has also long been suspected in the death of his wife, Kathleen Durst, and was acquitted years ago in the death of an elderly neighbor.

In the finale of the documentary that authorities hope will finally lead to a conviction, he muttered that "killed them all, of course."

He shuffled into the courtroom with his hands shackled at his waist, wearing sandals and an orange jumpsuit. He turned to the gallery and smiled, then appeared to fall asleep just before the hearing started. Later, he answered "yes" to questions from the judge about whether he was waiving extradition from Louisiana state to California.

But one of his lawyers, Dick DeGuerin, said the trip may be delayed because New Orleans prosecutors are considering other unspecified charges. He wouldn't elaborate, and spokesman Christopher Bowman said the Orleans Parish district attorney's office won't comment.

A police report said Durst was in possession of a revolver when he was arrested. In Louisiana, a person needs a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and it was not immediately clear if Durst had a permit.

A former prosecutor who reopened one of the cold cases against Durst years ago, Jeanine Pirro, said Monday that his own words, recorded during and after a lengthy interview he gave to the filmmaker, are enough to convict him.

In the finale of "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst," Durst acknowledges similarities in the handwriting of a letter he wrote and another one sent anonymously to Beverly Hills Police alerting them to his friend's "cadaver." Then he went to the bathroom, still wearing his live microphone.

What followed was bizarre rambling in which Durst said, apparently to himself, "There it is. You're caught" and "What the hell did I do? Killed them all of course."

Jarecki and his co-writer and cinematographer Marc Smerling answered some of the many questions raised by Durst's audiotaped comments in a New York Times interview published Monday.

They said they never confronted Durst about what he said in the bathroom, but that they did share what they found with authorities last year as they were preparing the film to be aired.

Durst willingly talked with Jarecki on camera. They met after the filmmaker told a fictionalized account of Durst's story in "All Good Things," a 2010 film starring Ryan Gosling.

The making of the documentary took three years, and the bathroom audio was discovered by an editing crew last June, Jarecki said.

For the filmmakers, the audiotape tipped the scales - they not only believe he's responsible for the murders, but that he's capable of more violence. Jarecki told the Times that they hired security and were relieved when Durst was finally arrested.

Berman was the daughter of an associate of Las Vegas mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky who spoke out on Durst's behalf after his wife disappeared. She was killed at her home near Beverly Hills with a bullet to the back of her head.

Durst then lived as a mute woman in a Texas boarding house until 2001, when dismembered parts of Black's body were found floating in Galveston Bay. He fled house arrest, then turned up shoplifting in Pennsylvania.

Lewis told that jury that Durst shot Black in self-defense, and he was acquitted of murder, despite admitting that he dismembered Black's body.

AP Television

New Orleans, March 16, 2015

1. Various of attorneys for Robert Durst leaving the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

2. SOUNDBITE Dick DeGuerin, Attorney for Robert Durst:

"let me just say that we came here to waive jurisdiction and go back to California and get it on. Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman. He's ready to end all the rumor and speculation and have a trial. But we were frustrated because local authorities are considering filing charges on him here and holding him here. We're ready to go to California and have a trial. See you later."

3. Various of who is believed to be Robert Durst arriving by sheriff's vehicle transport at a secure back entrance to the Orleans Parish criminal courthouse complex, which is next to the Orleans Parish jail

A friend of Robert Durst's first wife Kathleen Durst, said she is "over the moon" about the millionaire's arrest. Durst has been suspected - but never charged - in the disappearance of his first wife over 30-years ago.(March 17)

Ellen Strauss, a friend of millionaire Robert Durst's first wife Kathleen Durst, said she is "over the moon" about his arrest.

Strauss has been investigating the death of her friend for over 30 years and feels vindicated by Durst's arrest.

"I will take his going to jail anyway I can, I'm not fussy, he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it," said Strauss.

Strauss said she has spoken to Kathleen Durst's family and said they are "very happy" with the arrest.

"They've finally seen an end to it. You know she has a mother that's 101-years old living at home, 101 and not knowing for the last 33 years where her daughter is," said Strauss.

Durst was charged Monday in Los Angeles with first-degree murder in the shooting of Susan Berman, the daughter of a prominent Las Vegas mobster. Durst has also been suspected _ but never charged _ in the disappearance of his first wife in New York.

He could face the death penalty under special circumstances that allege he ambushed Berman and murdered a witness to a crime.

Authorities found more than a quarter-pound of marijuana and a revolver in Durst's hotel room when he was arrested over the weekend, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Durst appeared before a judge for a second straight day on Tuesday to face the drug and weapons charges.

In 2003, he was acquitted of murder in a dismemberment death in Texas.

In a documentary that just wrapped up about Durst's troubled life, he mumbled about how he "killed them all," providing a dramatic kick to the end of the series. But a law enforcement official said his arrest on the murder charge was based on words he wrote.

Analysis linked a letter Durst wrote to his friend Susan Berman a year before her killing with one that pointed police to her body, and that was the key new evidence in the long-dormant investigation into the 2000 killing, the official not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

AP TELEVISION

New York - March 17, 2015

1. Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I'm over the moon, absolutely over the moon. That's why I agree to do all these interviews, I'm exhausted. I wish my friend Eleanor Schwank, who worked with me on this, who just passed away could see it."

3. Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I will take his going to jail anyway I can, I'm not fussy, he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it."

5. Ellen Strauss, Friend of Kathleen Durst

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"They're very happy. They've finally seen an end to it. You know she has a mother that's 101 years old living at home, 101 and not knowing for the last 33 years where her daughter is."

7. Ellen Strauss, Friend of Kathleen Durst

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I haven't thought that far ahead, I mean I don't expect he is going to get off scot-free, I really don't. I think this time we've got him. He stabbed himself. He hoisted himself on his own petard whatever you want to call it. I am not thinking that way at all. I really think this time we've got him."

9. Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst, walking outside

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I think the trial is another chapter. I mean I'm waiting for that to be the nail in his coffin. He's got to squeak out of this one, that would be really amazing."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"How hard everybody worked, how hard all of us worked and it now seems that maybe it paid off, that it did pay off. I know that that the last chapter isn't written yet, but that is what life is all about surprises."

Lawyers for Robert Durst say the millionaire was illegally arrested on charges that he murdered a woman in California, as well as drug and weapons charges filed in New Orleans.

In papers filed Friday, William Gibbens and Dick DeGuerin asked a magistrate judge to schedule a preliminary hearing so that they can prove that there is no probable cause to keep Durst jailed. They say he should be released.

The judge agreed to schedule that hearing during another court appearance by Durst on Monday in New Orleans.

The attorneys also asked the judge to order that evidence be preserved from the hotel where Durst was arrested. They are seeking any and all records related to Durst and Everett Ward, the pseudonym Durst used to check into the hotel.

"Well, we're kind of at the mercy of the authorities in Louisiana right now, even though the biggest case, by far, the case's biggest moment is in California, and he was originally arrested on a warrant from California, and kind of brought to a head the rumors that have been flying for 15 years. It finally gives us an opportunity to meet those rumors in court."

AP PHOTOS

New Orleans, Louisiana - March 18, 2015

3. Photo of Durst after his arraignment in New Orleans

AP TELEVISION

Houston, Texas - March 20, 2015

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dick DeGuerin, Robert Durst's criminal defense lawyer (responding to what is known about items found in Durst's Houston home on Tuesday):

"We don't know. They took a couple of boxes out of there, I can't imagine what they were looking for. Unless it was Morris Black's head."

"We have a hearing on Monday in New Orleans and we may find out then, we may not find out then. They haven't charged him formally. They've filed some charges but there's a different procedure in Louisiana and it's not enough for the case to proceed and it's not enough to give us discovery that we're entitled to. We're prepared to litigate it but we've got to know what it's about."

AP PHOTOS

Houston, Texas - March 17, 2015

7. Photo of the building where Durst lives hours before police began a search

"Well, I think it's no coincidence that California brought this warrant in conjunction with the series. In fact, they even refer to that in their search warrant here in Houston. As you know, they searched his house here in Houston and the arrest warrant, the search warrant referred to the program."

A friend of Robert Durst's first wife Kathleen Durst, said she is "over the moon" about the millionaire's arrest. Durst has been suspected _ but never charged _ in the disappearance of his first wife over 30-years ago. (March 17)

Ellen Strauss, a friend of millionaire Robert Durst's first wife Kathleen Durst, said she is "over the moon" about his arrest.

Strauss has been investigating the death of her friend for over 30 years and feels vindicated by Durst's arrest.

"I will take his going to jail anyway I can, I'm not fussy, he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it," said Strauss.

Strauss said she has spoken to Kathleen Durst's family and said they are "very happy" with the arrest.

"They've finally seen an end to it. You know she has a mother that's 101-years old living at home, 101 and not knowing for the last 33 years where her daughter is," said Strauss.

Durst was charged Monday in Los Angeles with first-degree murder in the shooting of Susan Berman, the daughter of a prominent Las Vegas mobster. Durst has also been suspected _ but never charged _ in the disappearance of his first wife in New York.

He could face the death penalty under special circumstances that allege he ambushed Berman and murdered a witness to a crime.

Authorities found more than a quarter-pound of marijuana and a revolver in Durst's hotel room when he was arrested over the weekend, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Durst appeared before a judge for a second straight day on Tuesday to face the drug and weapons charges.

In 2003, he was acquitted of murder in a dismemberment death in Texas.

In a documentary that just wrapped up about Durst's troubled life, he mumbled about how he "killed them all," providing a dramatic kick to the end of the series. But a law enforcement official said his arrest on the murder charge was based on words he wrote.

Analysis linked a letter Durst wrote to his friend Susan Berman a year before her killing with one that pointed police to her body, and that was the key new evidence in the long-dormant investigation into the 2000 killing, the official not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

AP TELEVISION

New York - March 17, 2015

** SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASHES **

1. Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst, walking down street

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I'm over the moon, absolutely over the moon. That's why I agree to do all these interviews - I'm exhausted. I wish my friend Eleanor Schwank, who worked with me on this, who just passed away could see it."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I will take his going to jail anyway I can, I'm not fussy - he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"They're very happy. They've finally seen an end to it. You know she has a mother that's 101 years old living at home, 101 and not knowing for the last 33 years where her daughter is."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I don't expect he is going to get off scot-free, I really don't. I think this time we've got him. He stabbed himself. He hoisted himself on his own petard whatever you want to call it. I am not thinking that way at all. I really think this time we've got him."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I think the trial is another chapter. I mean I'm waiting for that to be the nail in his coffin. He's got to squeak out of this one, that would be really amazing."

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"How hard everybody worked, how hard all of us worked and it now seems that maybe it paid off - that it did pay off. I know that that the last chapter isn't written yet, but that is what life is all about surprises."

++No one Excerpt shall exceed one (1) minute or one clip it its entirety and in no event shall the aggregate footage from the Clip Reel used in all Excerpts exceed a total of one (1) minute. The Excerpts may only be exhibited for a period commencing on March 16, 2015 and ending on June 16, 2015++

++The Excerpts may be exhibited solely within the program and solely by means of Standard Television and/or The Company's Website.++

++MUST "COURTESY HBO"++

++HBO Bug Must Be Visible. -- The Bug Cannot be Blurred, Covered or Cropped++

++CANNOT EDIT WITHIN THE CLIP++

++A VERBAL & ON-AIR MENTION MUST BE MADE THAT ""THE HBO DOCUMENTARY SERIES, THE JINX can be seen on HBO.++

++No one Excerpt shall exceed one (1) minute or one clip it its entirety and in no event shall the aggregate footage from the Clip Reel used in all Excerpts exceed a total of one (1) minute. The Excerpts may only be exhibited for a period commencing on March 16, 2015 and ending on June 16, 2015++

++The Excerpts may be exhibited solely within the program and solely by means of Standard Television and/or The Company's Website.++

++MUST "COURTESY HBO"++

++HBO Bug Must Be Visible. -- The Bug Cannot be Blurred, Covered or Cropped++

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Lawyers for Robert Durst say the millionaire was illegally arrested on charges that he murdered a woman in California, as well as drug and weapons charges filed in New Orleans.

In papers filed Friday, William Gibbens and Dick DeGuerin asked a magistrate judge to schedule a preliminary hearing so that they can prove that there is no probable cause to keep Durst jailed. They say he should be released.

The judge agreed to schedule that hearing during another court appearance by Durst on Monday in New Orleans.

The attorneys also asked the judge to order that evidence be preserved from the hotel where Durst was arrested. They are seeking any and all records related to Durst and Everett Ward, the pseudonym Durst used to check into the hotel.

"Well, we're kind of at the mercy of the authorities in Louisiana right now, even though the biggest case, by far, the case's biggest moment is in California, and he was originally arrested on a warrant from California, and kind of brought to a head the rumors that have been flying for 15 years. It finally gives us an opportunity to meet those rumors in court."

"We have a hearing on Monday in New Orleans and we may find out then, we may not find out then. They haven't charged him formally. They've filed some charges but there's a different procedure in Louisiana and it's not enough for the case to proceed and it's not enough to give us discovery that we're entitled to. We're prepared to litigate it but we've got to know what it's about."

"Well, I think it's no coincidence that California brought this warrant in conjunction with the series. In fact, they even refer to that in their search warrant here in Houston. As you know, they searched his house here in Houston and the arrest warrant, the search warrant referred to the program."

An attorney for wealthy eccentric Robert Durst says his client's extradition to Los Angeles to face a murder charge is being delayed because prosecutors in New Orleans are considering charges against him.

Attorney Dick DeGuerin made the remarks outside the courthouse after an extradition hearing Monday. He wouldn't elaborate on what sort of charges Durst might face in New Orleans.

Durst was arrested in New Orleans over the weekend in the death of his friend Susan Berman, who was shot to death in Los Angeles in 2000. FBI agents arrested him without incident on Saturday at a Marriott hotel in New Orleans.

These consequences came the same weekend as the Sunday finale of an HBO documentary detailing his life of privilege and links to three deaths: his friend in Los Angeles, Susan Berman; his wife in New York, Kathleen Durst; and Morris Black, an elderly neighbor in Texas.

The Galveston County judge, Susan Criss, who presided over the 2003 murder trial of Morris Black spoke out following his most recent arrest relating to the murder of Susan Berman saying she thinks there's enough evidence to prove Durst murdered Berman.

Durst was acquitted of murder in the 2003 trial for the death of his neighbor Morris Black, despite admitting that he used a paring knife, two saws and an ax to dismember the body. With time served, Durst walked free after one more year for bond jumping and evidence tampering

It was by far not the first time in handcuffs for Durst, who still has millions of dollars despite his estrangement from one of America's wealthiest families, with assets of about $4 billion, made from a New York real estate empire that includes the World Trade Center 1 building.

AP TELEVISION

New Orleans - 16 March 2015

1. Attorneys for Robert Durst leaving the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

"We came here to waive jurisdiction and go back to California and to get it on. Bob Durst didn't kill Susan Berman, and he's ready to end all the rumor and speculation and have a trial. But we're frustrated because local authorities are considering filing charges on him here and holding him here. We're ready to go to California and to have a trial."

3. Various exteriors of the Orleans Parish jail and the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

HANDOUT: ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE

New Orleans - 15 March 2015

4. Booking photo provided by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office shows Robert Durst after his arrest in New Orleans on an extradition warrant to Los Angeles

"Took a bow saw and a paring knife and cut him up into pieces, packaged him like trash with the trash and threw him in the water."

HBO - MUST COURTESY: HBO

++No one Excerpt shall exceed one (1) minute or one clip it its entirety and in no event shall the aggregate footage from the Clip Reel used in all Excerpts exceed a total of one (1) minute. The Excerpts may only be exhibited for a period commencing on March 16, 2015 and ending on June 16, 2015++

++The Excerpts may be exhibited solely within the program and solely by means of Standard Television and/or The Company's Website.++

++MUST "COURTESY HBO"++

++HBO Bug Must Be Visible. -- The Bug Cannot be Blurred, Covered or Cropped++

++CANNOT EDIT WITHIN THE CLIP++

++A VERBAL & ON-AIR MENTION MUST BE MADE THAT ""THE HBO DOCUMENTARY SERIES, THE JINX can be seen on HBO.++

7. Clip from HBO Documentary Series, "The Jinx"

WWL - EMBARGO: New Orleans

New Orleans - 15 March 2015

8. Exteriors of Marriot Hotel Where Durst was arrested

KPRC - MUST COURTESY: KPRC, EMBARGO: HOUSTON

Galveston, Texas - 15 March 2015

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Susan Criss, Former Galveston County Judge: (Presided over Durst trial where he was acquitted of murder charges in death of Morris Black)

(Any doubt in your mind that Robert Durst killed this woman we're talking about Susan Berman?) "I'm very confident that the evidence is going to show that he did."

COURTROOM POOL

Galveston, Texas - September 2003

++AUDIO IS SILENT IN PARTS++

++VIDEO IS 4:3++

10. Various courtroom pool of Robert Durst being acquitted in trial related to death of neighbor, Morris Black. UPSOUND: "We the jury find the defendant Robert Durst, not guilty"

Ellen Strauss, a friend of millionaire Robert Durst's first wife Kathleen Durst, said she is "over the moon" about his arrest.

Strauss has been investigating the death of her friend for over 30 years and feels vindicated by Durst's arrest.

"I will take his going to jail anyway I can, I'm not fussy, he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it," said Strauss.

Strauss said she has spoken to Kathleen Durst's family and said they are "very happy" with the arrest.

"They've finally seen an end to it. You know she has a mother that's 101-years old living at home, 101 and not knowing for the last 33 years where her daughter is," said Strauss.

Durst was charged Monday in Los Angeles with first-degree murder in the shooting of Susan Berman, the daughter of a prominent Las Vegas mobster. Durst has also been suspected _ but never charged _ in the disappearance of his first wife in New York.

He could face the death penalty under special circumstances that allege he ambushed Berman and murdered a witness to a crime.

Authorities found more than a quarter-pound of marijuana and a revolver in Durst's hotel room when he was arrested over the weekend, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Durst appeared before a judge for a second straight day on Tuesday to face the drug and weapons charges.

In 2003, he was acquitted of murder in a dismemberment death in Texas.

In a documentary that just wrapped up about Durst's troubled life, he mumbled about how he "killed them all," providing a dramatic kick to the end of the series. But a law enforcement official said his arrest on the murder charge was based on words he wrote.

Analysis linked a letter Durst wrote to his friend Susan Berman a year before her killing with one that pointed police to her body, and that was the key new evidence in the long-dormant investigation into the 2000 killing, the official not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

AP TELEVISION

New York - March 17, 2015

1. Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I'm over the moon, absolutely over the moon. That's why I agree to do all these interviews, I'm exhausted. I wish my friend Eleanor Schwank, who worked with me on this, who just passed away could see it."

3. Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I will take his going to jail anyway I can, I'm not fussy, he can only go to jail once. What I would like is for him to tell us, on his death bed if he has to, where he put Kathy's body or pieces of it."

5. Ellen Strauss, Friend of Kathleen Durst

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"They're very happy. They've finally seen an end to it. You know she has a mother that's 101 years old living at home, 101 and not knowing for the last 33 years where her daughter is."

7. Ellen Strauss, Friend of Kathleen Durst

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I haven't thought that far ahead, I mean I don't expect he is going to get off scot-free, I really don't. I think this time we've got him. He stabbed himself. He hoisted himself on his own petard whatever you want to call it. I am not thinking that way at all. I really think this time we've got him."

9. Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst, walking outside

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"I think the trial is another chapter. I mean I'm waiting for that to be the nail in his coffin. He's got to squeak out of this one, that would be really amazing."

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ellen Strauss, friend of Kathleen Durst:

"How hard everybody worked, how hard all of us worked and it now seems that maybe it paid off, that it did pay off. I know that that the last chapter isn't written yet, but that is what life is all about surprises."

The District court judge in Robert Durst's 2003 Galveston, Texas trial says that while Durst appeared to act crazy at that trial, she believes, "he's able to plan the crimes and he's able to plan the cover-up of the crimes." (March 16)

The District court judge in Robert Durst's 2003 Galveston, Texas trial says that while Durst appeared to act crazy at that trial, she believes, "he's able to plan the crimes and he's able to plan the cover-up of the crimes."

"He is perfectly sane, he's got issues, and he's got a dark side, but he knows what he's doing," Former Galveston County judge Susan Criss said. "He shows a level of cunning that is not something the insane person is capable of doing."

Criss presided over the 2003 trial where Durst faced murder charges for killing his neighbor, Morris Black. A jury acquitted Durst of murder charges in that trial, despite admitting that he used a paring knife, two saws and an ax to dismember the body. With time served, Durst walked free after one more year for bond jumping and evidence tampering

Criss, who is now an attorney, says she's convinced he killed Morris as well as two other people.

"I think he killed his first wife. His first wife Kathy McCormack (Durst), I think he killd Susan Berman, and of course, we all know he killed Morris Black," Criss said.

Durst was arrested in New Orleans over the weekend in the death of his friend Susan Berman, who was shot to death in Los Angeles in 2000. FBI agents arrested him without incident on Saturday at a Marriott hotel in New Orleans.

These consequences came the same weekend as the Sunday finale of an HBO documentary detailing his life of privilege and links to three deaths: his friend in Los Angeles, Susan Berman; his wife in New York, Kathleen Durst; and Morris Black, an elderly neighbor in Texas.

Yet Criss says she does not think the FBI coordinated its arrest with the filmmakers and instead says they may have arrested him in order to prevent him from fleeing as the documentary gained more attention.

AP TELEVISION

Webster, Texas - March 16, 2015

1. Susan Criss (left) speaking with a friend

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Criss, district court judge in Durst's 2003 trial and now an attorney (responding to question about Durst's behavior during the 2003 trial):

"During the first part of the trial, he was acting crazy. He was pretending to talk to imaginary people at the council table, he was grunting like a pig, trying to act crazy, when the media was around. At some point, he stopped doing that and started acting normal. He is perfectly sane, he's got issues, and he's got a dark side, but he knows what he's doing. He's able to plan the crimes and he's able to plan the cover-up of the crimes. He shows a level of cunning that is not something the insane person is capable of doing."

"I think he killed his first wife. His first wife Kathy McCormick, I think he killd Susan Berman, and of course, we all know he killed Morris Black."

COURTROOM POOL

Galveston, Texas - September 2003

++VIDEO IS 4:3++

5. Various courtroom pool of Robert Durst at trial where he was ultimately acquitted of murder charges in the death of his neighbor, Morris Black.

AP TELEVISION

Webster, Texas - March 16, 2015

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Criss, Former Galveston County Judge:

"It's a very risky thing to coordinate a law enforcement investigation and entertainment. Law enforcement just doesn't do that."

COURTROOM POOL

Galveston, Texas - September 2003

++VIDEO IS 4:3++

7. Various courtroom pool of Robert Durst at trial where he was ultimately acquitted of murder charges in the death of his neighbor, Morris Black.

AP TELEVISION

Webster, Texas - March 16, 2015

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Criss, Former Galveston County Judge:

"But no one's going to hold off for a number of years so that a movie could be produced or documentary or series could be produced, that's ridiculous. But, what I do see is that in addition to the entire country watching this show and being fascinated by it, Bob Durst has been watching it, and he's been reading the media accounts and he's been reading the stories about the case being reopened and what's happening. People are starting to talk, it generates talk. Perhaps what they did was move on him to prevent him from running because of this show."

Authorities on Tuesday carried away two boxes after searching the Houston home of real estate millionaire Robert Durst after his weekend arrest in New Orleans on a murder warrant.

Durst, 71, is charged with murder in a Los Angeles killing 15 years ago, and has been suspected - but never charged - in the disappearance of his first wife in New York. In 2003, he was acquitted of murder in a dismemberment death in Texas. His arrest in New Orleans came shortly before the finale of an HBO series about his links to the three killings.

Seven officers spent hours Tuesday searching Durst's home in a 17-story condominium building in a posh Houston neighborhood. About 8:30 p.m. the officers, including one wearing a Los Angeles Police Department badge, carried two white cardboard document boxes to six vehicles and left.

The officers declined to comment, except for one who confirmed they were done.

FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap confirmed that FBI agents participated in the operation at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department. Harris County district attorney's office spokesman Jeff McShan said the Los Angeles Police Department contacted his office last week.

Neither Dunlap nor McShan would elaborate on what was happening inside the building and referred questions to Los Angeles police.

LAPD spokesman Sgt. Barry Montgomery said the department is not commenting until Durst is in its custody. Durst is being held in Louisiana, where he faces drug and weapons charges, and it's not clear how soon he will be returned to California.

"This is an investigation that's being handled by multi-jurisdictions," Montgomery said. "At this juncture the only thing the LAPD is doing is waiting for the extradition. We are just waiting on him to make it into our custody."

Durst, 71, was charged Monday in Los Angeles with first-degree murder in the shooting of Susan Berman, the daughter of a prominent Las Vegas mobster. He could face the death penalty under special circumstances that allege he ambushed her and murdered a witness to a crime.

Dick DeGuerin, Durst's longtime Houston defense attorney, said he was baffled by what investigators could be looking for in the condo building.

"I think it's a publicity stunt. I'm not surprised by it, but I would really be surprised if they found anything of any evidentiary value," he said.

In the documentary "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst" that just wrapped up, Durst mumbled about how he "killed them all," providing a dramatic kick to the end of the series. But a law enforcement official said his arrest on the murder charge was based on words he wrote.

AP TELEVISION

Houston, Texas - March 17, 2015

1. Police cars stationed outside the Houston high rise where Robert Durst owned three units

2. Various of one of the units believed to be owned by Robert Durst

3. Various of Robert Durst's high rise

4. Various of law enforcement officers inside and outside of the 2520 Robinhood high rise where Robert Durst owns three units